Two other isomers exist, phthalonitrile and isophthalonitrile.

1,4-Dicyanobenzene is a colorless or white solid with low solubility in water.

[1] Hydrogenation of isophthalonitrile affords p-xylylenediamine.

1,4-dicyanobenzene is electrochemically active, forming a stable persistent radical at anodes.

[2] For this reason, it has been used as a catalyst for automated reaction discovery, testing whether other species are redox active.